Apparatus for drying yarn.



- dcation, reference being had UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

RICHARD A. GAGE, OF PAWTUCKET, RIIODE ISLAND,

APPARATUS FOR DRYING YARN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patei1'No.i29,158, dated July 1 8, 1899. Application filed October 17, 1898. Serial Noe9s,777. (1% m'odelJ To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD A. GAGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pawtucket, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new andluseful' Improvements inApparatus for DryingYarn, of which the following is a specitherein to the accompanying drawings. v 1 My invention relates to apparatus for dry 7 ing yarn after the same has "been colored by r immersion in the dye-tub; and it consists of a chamber containing supports for yarnskeins, adoor by'whicli to enter said chamber, ventilating-openings in the side and top of said chamber, and pipes and burners in said chamber adapted to burn illuminating-gas under pressure mingled with atmospheric air "for the purpose of filling the chamber with a highly-heated atmosphere heavily charged with carbon dioxid, as hereinafter particularly specified. Y

It has been common hitherto to dry yarn I after it has been dyed by hanging the damp skeins upon a baror support vertically within a drying-room, which is heated by steam-pipes and which is provided with an exhaust-fan to removethe steam arising from the drying yarn. The temperature of the rooin,however,

resulting from the heat radiating'from thesteam-pipes cannot easily be maintained uniformly and ordinarily does not exceed 160 Fahrenheit, while the time required for the.

drying of the yarn under such conditions is from ten to twelve hours, during all which time the steam heat is kept up at considerable cost and with much care and labor. As the air of the drying-room becomes more and more saturated with the moisture arising from the drying yarn the drying process is necessarily impaired, because the damp yarn cannot dry as quickly in a dampatmosphere as in a dry one, and therefore the steam or hot damp air must be taken out of the drying-room by means of exhaust-fans or otherwise andfr'esh air admitted, which requires to be heated up The dye liquid which. has been absorbed by the.

to the desired temperature as before.

yarn and which has not been removed therefrom by the squeezing orextracting process is liable to flow or gradually extend down the skein by gravity and to accumulate at and .near'the lower end of the skein, thus making the yarn uneven in color and more intense in shade at and near the bottom of the skein. To obviate this difficulty,various devices have been employed, as, for example, means to rotate the bars upon which the skeins are hung,

thus causing the 'yarn to change its position gradually and regularly in the vertical plane; but such rotatingmeans require the expenditure of power for-a considerable period of time.

Ihave discovered that the operation of gravity which'causes the downward flow of the dyeing liquor upon the skeins may bearrestcd and the dyestufi may be dried quickly and evenly in its place upon the yarn and all flow or spreading of the dyestufi may be prevented by exposing the wet yarn while hanging in ske'ins vertically upon a supporting-bar, to I the action within a chamberof an intense heat for a short time and immediately afterward to the action within said chamber of a less in tense heat, by which the coloring material is quickly dried and the moisture is driven off as steam through suitable dampers or openings in said chamber.

' As the temperature of steam is 212 Fahrenheit and can never exceed that heat and as conduction and condensation upon the exterior surfaces of the steam-pipes reduce the amount of heat radiating therefrom, and as the temperature of the room is necessarily diminished to a considerable degree by the drafts which are required to carry off the moisture evaporating from the damp skeins it is necessary in order to provide for quick drying of the yarnvto use some other heating means thanstea-ni-pipes. I thereforeresort to the combustion of carbureted hydrogen or common illuminating-gas under pressure from pipes into which common atmospheric air flows and there mingles with said gas, thus producin g an intense heat,wh ich rapidly dries out the moisture of the damp skeins as steam. Instead, however, of using illuminating-gas it is evident that coal-oil may be used in combination with atmospheric air to obtain the blue intense flame.

In the drawings I show the apparatus which is adapted for the practice of my said inven Lion. In the drawings, Figure '1 is a perspective View of said apparatus. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same as seen on line x w of Fig. 1, the yarn-skeins and their supports, as also the several gas-pipes, being shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of said apparatus as seen on line 31g of Fig. 2, and shows in elevation the several gas-pipes used in heating. Fig. 4 is a view of one of said pipes and its connections as seen on line a of Fig. 3.

In the drawings, A represents a drying room or chamber having, as seen in Fig. 2 in section, an exterior sheathing orcovering a and a lining of asbestos cement 1). Sheets of zinc or other suitable sheet metal (indicated by the heavyline a) cover the interior surfaces of said room or chamber A. Said metallic lining of the chambermay, however, be omitted, if desired. A door is provided, as seen at B, by which to go into and out of the chamber to place the yarn therein or to remove it theref rom,or for any other purpose, as desired. An opening at the top is shownat' C, in which opening is a set of dampers (Z, operated by a knob cor in any other desired manner. In an opening I), at one side, is a pane of glass f, behind which and within the room or ehamberA a thermometer E is mounted, so that the temperature of the air within the room orchamher A may be ascertained by the attendant whostandswithout. AveutilatorFis hinged at one side of the room or chamber A, at the bottom, and is arranged to swing outwardly, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Said ventilator when closed to lie vertically in position closes the space g. A cord or chain 71/, fastened to an eye 2' of the ventilator and secured to a nail 7', holds said ventilator in an elevated position.

Skein supporters or bars G are mounted loosely upon brackets L within the room or chamber A and extend froin side to side.

' The yarn-skeins II are suspended on said bars 'pipe N also opens into the valve L and by means of the coupler or collar 0 enters into the two-way pipe or piece P. The outer ends of the pipe I, as indicated at m and-n, are open to the external atmosphere. A gas-jet pipe Q is connected at one end with the pipe P and its inner or opposite end is closed by the cap 0. The pipe Q is supported at its inner end by a post or standard R from the floor or bottom of the room or chamber A. The pipe Qhas a number'of small openingsp near each other on the upper part, through which the mingled air and gas passes in jets and is there ignited.

i In Fig. 2 I indicate by the dotted line s a wire or slatted screen resting upon brackets it, which may be used when it is desired to' upon the bars within the chamber A, the gasjets are lighted by the attendant, who then withdraws and closes the dampers (Z and door 3 and ventilator F. The intense heat of the burning mingled gas and air rapidly carries up the temperature within the closed chamber A to the desired degree, preferably about 400 Fahrenheit, and fills said chamher with carbonic dioxid,' (or carbonic anhydrid.) The aflinity of water and carbonic dioxid greatly facilitates the drying process. When the heat'has risen to 212 Fahrenheit, the water passes from the yarn-skeinsin the form of steam and rises to the upperportion of the ehamberA. The heat still continuing to increase at a rapid rate first causes the dye liquor to dry in situ upon the yarn by extracting the moisture therefrom, and so prevents it from flowing by gravity down the skein. It is desirable to reach this stage of the process as soon as possible, and therefore the dampers d and doors B and F should-remain closed until this time. Then as it is not desirable to subject the yarn any longer to said very intense heat the dampers dare opened,and thereby the steam accumulated in the top of the chamber escapes therefrom. The ventilator F is also opened, admitting fresh air from without; but said new air, as it passes to the gasfiame before reaching the yarn-skeins, is heated before acting upon them. By these means the temperature of the chamber A is considerably reduced,prferably to about 300 Fahrenheit or, if desired," to any other degree exceeding 212 Fahrenheit, and the yarn is more moderately dried, the moisture passing off in the form of steam. As soon as the yarn has become thoroughly dried (which may be determined by any suitable hygrometer within the chamber or by feeling or after some experience by the attendant in working this process by his own judgment, based upon the lapse of time) the yarn is removed from the chamber and a new quantity of yarn put in to be dried. In this manner yarn can be thoroughly dried very quickly and will be uniform in color and shade.

I claim as a novel and useful invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The improved apparatus for drying yarn gether, all operating substantially as and for :0 herein described eonsisti 11g of a chamber, prothe purpose specified. vided with skein-supports and having a door In testimony whereof I afl'ix my signature for entrance and exit, an epenin in the top in presence of two Witnesses. e with dampers therein and a. ventilator at the i Y bottom, a series of pipes and burners in said RICHARD chamber :11 singed and adapted to convey lvitgnesses I em-bureted hydrogen under pressure and at- \VARRENR, PERUE mospheri'e air to be mingled and burned to HOWARD ASA LAMPREV. 

